When:  November 19th at Noon.

Where: Pete's Bar and Grill

What: The Monthly Lunch

Who:  YOU!

Please get back to me via e-mail or posting a message here so I can let Joe know how many to expect at lunch. 

This column is addressed to fellow conservatives, especially those who penned in the word "correctly" on their little "I Voted" stickers--though I declined the sticker. It smacked of a toddler announcing he'd made a potty all by himself. Of course I voted.

My message is simple: Suck it up.

The terrorist who bombed the Pentagon (no, not Osama bin Laden, William Ayers) accused the Republican Party of trying to "exploit the politics of fear" by bringing up Obama's connections to him.  And he also apologized that "I don't think we did enough."

That's a good one. Next thing you know, Ahmadinejad will be asking for an apology from the Republicans.

That is the conclusion of Marilyn Shuler, former director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission in a guest ediorial in yesterday's Idaho Statesman:

The media have reported studies showing a relationship between education and voting patterns. Highly educated people tend to vote Democratic. Idaho unfortunately has one of the lowest rates of high school graduates attending college and one of the lowest percentages of residents with degrees.

Oh yeah, it's also because they are white and are either born-again Jesus freaks or weird Mormons.

The New York Times has a similar take on rural southerners:

Southern counties that voted more heavily Republican this year than in 2004 tended to be poorer, less educated and whiter, a statistical analysis by The New York Times shows. Mr. Obama won in only 44 counties in the Appalachian belt, a stretch of 410 counties that runs from New York to Mississippi. Many of those counties, rural and isolated, have been less exposed to the diversity, educational achievement and economic progress experienced by more prosperous areas.

It's a new strain of the Pauline Kael Syndrome. Not only do the liberalati not know someone personally that voted for McCain, they can't believe that anyone did.

I guess now that The Chosen One has officially been deified, all pretenses that the Democrats are the party of the "working man" and the Republicans are "rich fat cats" are out the window.

And here's one more for ol' Doubting Thomas.  And you read it here first.

From today's Whitman County Gazette:

This is for "Doubting Thomas" in the CUE.  See, the truth is not partisan.  What say you now?

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Below you will find posted pictures of the fraudulent mail from the Washington State Democratic Central Committee being sent to voters in Whitman County informing them that their vote will not count unless certain actions are taken.  Click on the image for a larger version.

According to Whitman County Elections Supervisor Debbie Hooper, about 20 of these bogus forms have been returned to the Auditor's Office, and only one of those voters actually had problems with their ballot.

This wasn't a surprise.  Each vote count increased Democrat Pat O'Neill's lead, even though, as in the primary, the late-arriving votes trended Republican.

Canvassing was certainly a factor in this race, but Obama wasn't.  I don't want to pick on Jerry Finch as he is a friend, but these are important, real world lessons for any Republican officeholder or potential candidate in Whitman County to learn. 

1.  You cannot rest on your laurels and take for granted that you can win without doorbelling, phone banking, get out the vote, or any of the other unglamorous grunt work involved in campaigning  The Democrats in this county are Avis.  They try harder (up to and beyond the legal limits apparently.)

2.  If you break with the majority of your party, be prepared to face the consequences.  Jerry's loss was completely attributable to Republicans in rural Whitman County either not voting or voting against him.  The Obama wave, student voters, and the Democrats had very little to do with it, even though those excuses make the defeat easier for Finch and some Republicans to swallow.  

I'm referring to Jerry's support of the rural residential housing ordinance, which restricted hilltop development in the county (Finch's radio ads about the ordinance were the equivalent of waving a red flag before a bull; I would have definitely avdised Jerry not to remind voters about it).  I know Jerry felt very strongly about this issue, and he is to be commended for having the guts to take an unpopular stand on a controversial issue, but it likely cost him his job (the Hawkins development is too complex of an issue to have had much effect outside the PARD types.)  Before Mr. O'Neill supports additional legislation preserving "scenic beauty," he'd do well to keep this in mind if he doesn't want to be a one-term commissioner. 

I'll be presenting the numbers to support my contention soon.

From yesterday's Whitman County Gazette:

Apparently unhappy that Washington is simply a one-party state, Democrats are now attempting to squash ALL dissent, Soviet style. 

TheDemocrats are trying to keep the Building Industry Association of Washington, the last ballsy and fully-funded voice of free enterprise in this state, from spending its money on political campaigns.

The Public Disclosure Commission is even considering shutting up the unfunded voices.  Earlier this week, the PDC held a hearing on requiring even unpaid bloggers, such as myself, to register as "lobbyists."  That, of course, would lead to all sorts of frivilous PDC complaints, fines, and lawsuits (remember John Carlson, Kirby Wilbur and I-912?) that would essentially destroy what little free speech remains in the People's Republic of Washington. 

Michael Reitz, an attorney for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has the story here and here.

And if Chuckie Schumer has his way, the Fairness Doctrine is right around the corner to take care of conservative talk radio.

Goodbye, First Amendment, we hardly knew ye.

The following is based upon an interview I just conducted with Ms. Eunice Coker, Whitman County Auditor.

The Whitman County Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible illegal electioneering and fraud by Democrats in last week's election.

Today, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah spoke to the United Nations promoting tolerance. He was quoted as saying, "Human beings were created as equals and partners on this planet. Either they live together in peace and harmony or they will inevitably be consumed by the flames of misunderstanding, malice and hatred."

Uh-huh.

Also making today's news:

A Saudi defense attorney banned from travel because he defended "Girl from Qatif," who was sentenced in November 2006 to several months in prison and 90 lashes for being alone in a car with a man she was not related or married to when the two were attacked and raped by seven men.

Some other recent headlines out of Saudi Arabia:

SAUDI ARABIA: Blogger arrested, beaten over poem

Saudi hunger strike over detentions

So let me get this straight, Obama wants to collect taxes  from American citizens and their families and then require them to perform forced labor in order to receive some of the money back? Ah yes, I remember now. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Welcome to the world of Marxism. 

From Obama's farcical website Office of the President Elect:

"When you choose to serve -- whether it's your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood -- you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That's why it's called the American dream."

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation's challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

If Democrat Senator Baucus is so confident in his health care reform plan, why will it require people to participate under threat of imprisonment?  Don't you just love the Democrat's version of freedom? 

One of the ways the unions and industries shut down independent competition, which may result in lower prices, is to use  government agencies to create new rules and regulations that the independent competitor can't comply with.  Here is a case in point: The Port of Seattle is planning to regulate emissions on trucks that service the port, to 1994 levels by 2010, 2007 levels by 2015 and 2017 levels by 2017.  What this does is effectly shut out independent truckers, most of whom can't afford the new trucks that will be required.  The only companies that will be able to service the port will be the established large, unionized trucking companies.  Less competition will lead to higher costs for consumers and more power for the trucking unions.

A few pertinent excerpts:

Let's just call the auto industry bailout what it really is, a big political payoff for the United Auto Workers union.  Here's a thought, how about if before the government confiscates taxpayer money to pay for the rushed bailout, first confiscate the assets of the union that is largely responsible for the failure. When the unions are all in, then I might believe a bailout is necessary.  Until then, this will only be a Democrat attempt to prop up their biggest contributor using MY money.

Many times in the past, the President of the United States has been called the leader the of the free world.  In this article about the Obamas' choice of a family dog, President-Elect Obama has been elevated to the position of "first global president."   

According the Columbia Basin Herald, gas prices have dipped below $2.00 a gallon in Moses Lake. Meanwhile, a gallon of gas in Pullman is hovering around $2.50.

The extra fifty cents a gallon must not be all there is to the profitability story.  The CheckPoint station has suddenly shut down and Jin's Mart is for sale.

"Government is really going to have to get back to the absolute, essential basics."

~ Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire in today's Seattle PI.

Does this mean that the recently created position of Washington State Poet will be going on the chopping block?  I wouldn't count on it.

The Whitman County Gazette yesterday published a precinct breakdown of the initial Whitman County election results. Here is my rough analysis of those results:

One of the faults of the Republican Party is that they seem to have forgotten that politics is a people business. It almost seems as if admitting that they need an average person's help would demean them.

My recent experience with the McCain campaign is typical.  I was a very lukewarm McCain supporter.  When Sarah Palin was announced as the vice presidential choice, I was brimming with new enthusiasm.  I went to the McCain campaign's website to learn more.  While I was there, I clicked on a link to volunteer for the campaign.  I shared my personal information and e-mail address. Great!  A couple of days later I received an e-mail from the campaign asking me to submit my resume. Huh?  I haven't had a resume in years and I had no idea what information they needed that would be pertinent for me to put up a campaign sign or write letters or whatever.  I was a little put-off so I didn't reply.  I was hoping perhaps the national campaign would coordinate with the local Republican chapter.  They know me as a loyal Republican, so that would certainly clear me enough to volunteer.  Nope. Nothing.  Zero. Zilch.

I received no communication from the McCain/Palin team except for canned e-mails asking me for money.  Then suddenly on the morning of November 4th, I received an e-mail from the McCain campaign asking me to call the ten people who were listed in the e-mail. Ten individual voters in IOWA, with names and phone numbers!  The e-mail promised that if I needed more names, just reply and they would send them.  I am in eastern Washington state, not Iowa!  Wouldn't it have made just a little more sense to send me the names of voters in Washington? Why did they wait to include me until it was too late?  What is wrong with these people?  Sometimes I wonder if there aren't Democrat operatives working in the Republican Party.

Harry Reid's post-election interpretation of unifying the country and reaching out to different points of view. Party unity through political cleansing and fear.  This typifies the arrogance of one party rule and the Dems have only just begun.

I don't know about everyone else, but when my family budget faces a deficit, I always hire a poet so that I don't feel as badly. Gee, that's what the Washington State Legislature and Governor does, too! 

Washington state's official poet was hired in December 2007, too late to be reported on the current state employee salaries list, but he is paid from the Arts Commission budget, so I'll be looking for it when it's made available.

If you get the chance, you can listen to your tax dollars make neither rhyme nor reason tonight in Richland.

It's a shame that the Rossi campaign didn't expose more of these silly expenditures.

The Lewiston Tribune reported yesterday:

State Reps. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, and Steve Hailey, R-Mesa, will be back in Olympia representing the 9th District after defeating their Democratic challengers in lopsided races.

As of Tuesday night, the tallies showed Schmick with 63 percent of the vote, compared to 37 percent for Tyana Kelley of Pullman.

But ever the fighter for the "working class," Kelley refused to concede, as reported by yesterday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

With the apparent election of Obama to be President I had some thoughts. I wrote this in a true "free write" fashion where I just let my though pour out without editing and grammar being a big consideration...

Now that the good people of King County have seen fit to saddle us with Gregoire for another four years, the Seattle Times reports today: